Yuhan-Kimberly UJET MC3 Premium

Sample printed by Yuhan Kimberly UJET MC3 at Fespa Mexico 2008 tradeshow.

At FESPA Mexico (August 2008) it was possible to see the new Yuhan-Kimberly UJET MC3 Premium textile printer, and even do some test prints.

They were demonstrating how you can now print on pure natural cotton. You no longer have to be stuck with expensive coated cotton (inkjet coated).

This Yuhan-Kimberly UJET MC3 Premium fabric printer can use

* nano-pigment textile ink for cotton, silk, rayon, natural fibers
* reactive dye textile ink, cotton, silk, rayon, natural fibers
* acid dye textile ink,
* disperse dye (dye-sublimation) textile ink for polyester

You just need to heat-treat the materials after printing (only disperse dye needs sublimation; the others simply need heat treatment).

Digital inkjet textile printers allow samples, proofing as well as short-run production

Short-run production, proofing, producing samples are just a few of the many benefits of a digital inkjet printer for fabrics.

Wide-format inkjet textile printers facilitates mass customization

You can personalize printing output with an inkjet textile printer.

Yuhan-Kimberly UJET MC3 Premium can handle diverse fabrics

Materials handling is the secret to why one brand/model of textile printer is better than another

Merely being able to manufacturer a “textile printer” is only the first step. Anyone can run textile ink through their eco-solvent or water-based printer platform, and call it a “textile printer.” But these retrofitted printers are not really full-scale textile printers because they can’t adequately handle a wide range of different fabrics.

Too many “textile printers” are simply solvent printers with a different label stuck on them. Roland, Mutoh, and Mimaki are all experienced at making water-based printers for signage, and eco-solvent printers for signage. And Mimaki (of these three) has basic experience in basic textile printers.

But Yuhan-Kimberly is a textile printer company. Their printer has to handle fabrics better than the other printers, or Yuhan-Kimberly would not survive.

Mimaki, Mutoh, and Roland can survive with their eco-solvent and UV-cured inkjet printers; their survival does not depend on whether or not they sell many textile printers.

I have visited the Yuhan-Kimberly textile printer headquarters, test facilities, and textile sample display rooms in Korea. Very impressive. I will be back there in early October to test the UJET MC3 Premium.

Nicholas Hellmuth evaluating the Yuhan-Kimberly textile printer.

This is not a T-shirt printer; this is a serious textile printer for a business.

Although this printer is suitable for beginners and for sign shops who wish to expand, it is a serious textile printer for fabrics, not just a T-shirt printer!

You can do scarves and other fashion accessories, cloth handbags, bedding materials (sheets, pillows, etc), towels, wall coverings (wallpaper too), upholstery, curtains, soft signage, trade show booths (I have seen entire booths out of fabrics). So fashion, interior decoration, and apparel are all good applications.

With some materials you could consider doing tends, awnings, and products for boats, but I have to check to see how thick a material this new printer can handle.

First posted September 2008.